


Unnamed warrior

by RatOfTheSea



Category: None - Fandom
Genre: Crime, Dirty crime boy, Familiars, Found Family, Gen, Help, Jerboa - Freeform, Journey, Kingdoms, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Quests, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, big story, will add tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatOfTheSea/pseuds/RatOfTheSea
Summary: New work! All the chapters are done but I’ll probably only post a few a day :)





	1. Chapter 1

Will post new chapter in literally seconds :)


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter!! Please leave a kudos!!!

Zelus looked out the window of his small house. It was summer and he opened all the windows to let in some cooler air. He didn't want to leave the house but he had to get food, so he begrudgingly sat up and walked away from the window and towards the door. “Please be safe.” he heard a small frail voice coming from the couch. He looked over to see his sister, Ada, lying down on the couch with a cup of tea. He sighed “of course. Is there anything you want me to find in particular?” he asked. She nodded and said “yeah, I would like more tea. Also I think we ran out of bread.” Zelus grabbed his bad and slung it over his shoulder “I'll look for some ok?” she sat up a bit more “ok.”   
As soon as he walked out the door he put on his mask, he needed to remain anonymous. He walked into town through the alleyways. the streets of Guptu (the kingdom he lives in) were full of vendors, he looked at all the tiny shops looking for food. He came across a stall with some cool looking shirts, he would pick up one on his way out. He came across a store with lots of bread. the shop owner was currently talking with a customer, great. While they were distracted he snuck two loaves of bread in his bag. He quickly walked away just in case he was caught. He wasn't. “Ok, ok, tea.” he whispered to himself. He found a tea shop and looked through the options.  
“May I help you?” the shop owner asked. She looked at him with kind eyes, he almost felt bad that he was gonna steal from her. “Uh yeah, what would you recommend for fatigue?” He knew one of his sister’s symptoms was fatigue and if he could relieve at least one of her symptoms he’d be happy. She showed him a section with some ‘refreshing’ teas “these should do the trick, i'm going to go help the other customer really quick while you pick”   
He looked through some of the flavors and picked out some she might like, lemon flavors mostly. He was about to stuff them in his bag but the store owner came back. “Would you like a pouch for that?” he said yes and she reached under the counter to get a bag. He considered just running away now but for some reason he froze. “That will be 2 coins” that was cheap. He was surprised, he was actually able to afford this. He reached in his bag and took out two coins and gave them to her. “Thank You for your purchase. I hope you enjoy it!” she put on a big smile “oh and here” she handed him a small box of tea “I'm not really supposed to be giving stuff out for free, but-” he accepted it gratefully “thank you miss, have a great day” she smiled again, “have a lovely day sir.”  
He turned and started to go back the way he came. He hummed a tune to himself while walking through the packed streets until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't look back to see who it was, he already knew. He ran as fast as he could weaving through the townsfolk. He ducked into an alleyway and kept running till he got home. Once inside he took off his mask and took some deep breaths. Ada stared at him “I'm guessing someone spotted you?” he looked at her heart still beating fast “I wasn't caught but I think one of the guards recognised me” she sat up and looked concerned “Zelus you can't get caught we could be banned again.” he shook his head, he knew that. They had been banned from every town in this kingdom and had to move every single time. “I know Ada, I'm afraid of that but I don't think they’ll ban us from the entire kingdom.”  
And boy, was he wrong. The guards went door to door and found out where they lived. They were given three days to pack their things before being led out of the kingdom. At the gates a guard looked at them and said “if our perimeter patrol finds you anywhere near the kingdom we won't hesitate to kill you.” Zelus shuddered slightly, the guards were heavily armed and way taller than him and he was 6’ 1’’. Ada grabbed his arm for support, her legs were really weak today because she refused to let Zelus do all the packing. The guards opened the gates and Zelus grabbed their bags and headed out. He felt scared, how was he supposed to care for Ada? She must have seen his fear because she looked up into his eyes and reassured him saying “we'll be fine Zelus, we'll find somewhere to live.” he looked back at her and put on an unsure smile as the gates closed behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She looked out onto the streets of the kingdom she lived in. she saw people walk by, they looked so weak and sickly. Her kingdom had been infected with a plague, it killed quickly and she saw the devastating effects every day. She was in the middle of packing her bags, taking everything needed for her survival out in the wilderness. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. “Valerie sweetie, do you have everything?” her mother asked. “Yes mom, I have everything, I triple checked” a few weeks after the plague really became a big concern, the government put out ads. The ads had info about certain ingredients for the cure. They knew the cure but the plants and oils they needed were far away, they needed someone to go out on a journey and get them. She had signed up and even though she knew it would be dangerous, she needed to do this. For her kingdom.  
She hugged her mom for what might be the last time and walked the streets until she got to the gate. The king himself was there wishing her well and giving her a map. “You are doing something really good for the sake of our kingdom, I cannot thank you enough.” he spoke. She simply bowed and said “it's my pleasure” before heading off.

Valerie sat on a large rock while looking out across a river. She needed to get to the other side but she knew the water would ruin her map,so she sat there looking for a way around. She saw a really big tree that had a branch hung over the river, it was a big drop but as long as she bends her knees when she jumped she should be fine. She climbed up the tree as fast and safe as possible. Once in the tree she took a breather and looked out onto the branch, it looked strong enough to hold her weight so she proceeded. She slowly inched her way across the branch to the other side of the river. The water rushed below her making her a bit anxious but she went on anyway. ¼ of the way across the branch started to give way, she panicked but kept her body still. She slowly inched forward and reached the other side as the branch broke. She fell to the ground hard but got up quick, she checked herself for injuries and after finding nothing she shook and proceeded.  
As the sky began to darken, she found a great place to set up camp for the night. Valerie’s mother had given her a survival book and she used it to learn how to start a fire, the flames quickly consuming the wood she gathered. She stared at the flame for a bit and watched as it danced, she felt at peace. She took a small journal out from her bag, she wanted to document her journey and she had written some songs in case she was bored. She wrote down what happened on her first day outside the kingdom as she sang a song about poets and love. After she was done writing and she finished singing the song, she laid down some blankets and tried to get some rest. The sounds of the night outside the kingdom were new to her and admittedly a bit scary, but soon after she lied down they quickly put her to sleep.


	3. 2

//TW: nightmare sequence, fire, dead animal.//

Zelus and Ada had been walking for two and a half days and Ada’s legs became weak. Zelus had to carry her along with their bags. “Hey Z, it's getting late, we should stop for the night.” Zelus looked at her and sighed. It would be nice to stop. But as soon as he was about to put her down he saw something. A cabin in the distance. “Ada, look.” he said pointing to the cabin. She looked and immediately found what he was looking at. “Let's go! whoever lives there might help us!” she said excitedly.   
Once they stood in front of the cabin’s door they realised it had not been lived in for a while, one of the windows was gone and vines crept onto the railings near the door. The mailbox was tipped over and the front door’s dark blue paint was severely chipped. Zelus tested to see if the door was locked he gave it a few firm tuggs and it didn't open. He leaned Ada on the wall next to the door and climbed in through the window. When he was inside he saw that the inside was just as bad as the outside. There were broken chairs and plates, ripped curtains, and rotten floorboards. He walked to the front door and unlocked it from the inside he pushed it open and helped Ada get inside   
After some cleaning up the place looked alot better. They had spent the night there and decided this would be their home. He walked outside to get to know the place better and found a shed with some big sheets of plywood. He looked around in the shed and found a hatchet, a tool kit, and some gardening stuff. He took the tool kit and a sheet of plywood to fix the big hole where the broken window was. After he was done he needed a drink so he went inside and boiled some river water they got a day ago. He let it cool down a bit before chugging it.  
“Ew I hate watching you drink things and it sounds really gross” Ada said, her nose scrunching up. Zelus looked at her with a dead expression before saying “oh shut up you're not the one who just fixed the window, You potato head” he said playfully. She looked over to the window “says the one who left a big gap in the so called ‘fixed window’” the plywood wasn't big enough to cover the entire window so there was a big open line down the center. “Well I still did it, I'll find something to patch it up later.” Ada looked at him with a ‘I know you won't expression’ and he let out a little laugh “I will! Oh come on, I'm not that lazy!” Ada smirked and said “yeah, yeah, sure we'll see.” 

After a few weeks of living there they had developed a routine: they would have breakfast together, Zelus would go hunting and depending on how much he found he would make lunch, then he would look around for things to make the cabin house look less abandoned and run down. Before dinner he would go ‘patrol’ the area, He was anxious that someone might attack them for their resources. There were plenty of people living outside of kingdoms that it was definitely dangerous to be out here, His biggest fear was not being able to protect and care for Ada. and while he was patrolling he could find more things to hunt, so it was a must do in his book.   
Zelus had just gotten home from patrolling and saw Ada in their little make-shift kitchen. Ada looked at him and said “I didn't feel really bad today, so I thought I would start making dinner. You always Cook so it's my turn.” Zelus smiled and thanked her before going to the bathroom. Once inside he looked at himself in the mirror, his hair started to grow out of control and eventually he would have to use Ada’s hair ties. He pulled his left hand through his hair to watch his bangs flop back down into place. He had serious eye bags and he was dirty from not having a functional shower. He sighed and decided he'd bathe in the river not too far from here, he didn't like that idea too much but he knew there wasn't really any other options. He continued to look at his face, nothing had changed much except for the obvious, he looked exactly the same as the day they were banned. He rubbed the big reddish birthmark on his cheek and turned to go back to the kitchen.  
After finishing the dinner Ada made (which was way better than Zelus’ cooking) they went to bed. Zelus looked over to his sister across the room, she did look better today but he couldn't get his hopes up. “So, you said you felt better today?” he asked. “Yeah, after lunch I was able to move without getting too tired.” she responded. Zelus smiled “that's good, is this something new or was it just a good day?” She looked at him and smiled, “It was a just good day but I'm happy I was useful.” Zelus looked at her sadly “You think you’re not useful?” She looked at him and sighed “well If I wasn't sick I could help out more. I feel bad not being able to do anything.” Zelus looked at her before saying “Ada, you will always be useful. I don't know what I'd do without you here.” she looked at him, smiled slightly and replied “Thank you Z, sweet dreams.” he was glad he was able to make her feel a little better. “Good night Ada.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Valerie was panting hard, She had to go hunting for food because her supply was getting low. He looked as the deer she had been trying to get bounded away from her. “Ugh.” she said, she was trying really hard. She would try again later but she didn't want to deal with it right now.  
Once she got her bags and her map she set off again, she looked at the map and saw that there was a trading post nearby. She could get some non perishable food there. She grabbed a compass out of her bag and set off in that direction. She arrived at the trading post and looked through the stalls. She found many stores she likes and got the foods she was looking for. She also got a piece of bread-like cake to celebrate, but just as she was about to leave she saw an old woman staring at her. She walked over to the shop out of curiosity.  
The old woman looked up to her “what's your name, young lady?” she asked. “Valerie, what do you sell here?” the old woman proceeded to show her some of the Items in her shop. Valerie realized it was a magic shop, there were spell books and wands and tiny potions. She thought she might as well try some, she picked up an energy potion and pulled out 5 coins. She gave the coins to the lady but before she had a chance to leave the woman stopped her. “Wait, I was going to say that one of the wands I made was calling out to you.” Valerie looked at the woman as if she had two heads. “What?” she asked. “When a wand is made for a person it tries to call out, it sings for the perfect person.” Valerie looked at the assortment of wands. they were all beautiful, wood carved and gems in various places. One caught her eye, it was a light wood with light and dark purple gems. She reached for it and picked it up. It felt like it belonged in her hands. The woman smiled at her “that was the one.”  
The woman gave her the wand for free so she bought a beginner’s spell book, a few potions and a familiar summoning charm. She didn't need one but she would like some company. She put the charm on and continued on her journey through the woods. Soon she came to a river one she could jump over easily. instead of crossing it, she decided to take a break. She took out the magic book and tried to do some spells. First one was a levitation spell. She pointed her wand at a pebble on the ground and closed her eyes. When she opened them she saw that the pebble wasn't there. She looked up and there it was,she was so surprised that she lost focus and the pebble fell onto her face. “Oof”  
After walking a bit more and levitating random things off the ground, the sun was starting to set and she was getting tired. She knew she should keep going, she even had an energy potion! But, she needed a break. After all the stress of seeing people in her village die everyday, she wanted to rest. She set up camp and laid down on the ground and tried to clear her mind. Her whole village, no, kingdom was relying on her. It was overwhelming. Hopefully her familiar would come soon. She pulled a blanket over her and closed her eyes she took a deep breath and felt her world go dark

It was nighttime when she woke up. Did she wake up before the morning? She looked around and she wasn't in the forest. She was in her village. She looked around frantically, there was a fire in the houses a few yards from her. She ran to it and the fire started to rage, flames swallowed up the house in mere seconds. Other houses burst into flames as well, she could feel the intense heat on her face. She heard anguished screams coming from the inside so she ran. She couldn't take it anymore. bats were screeching above her, maybe they felt just as scared as she was.  
She kept running tears streaming down her face. She could hear the screams of the townsfolk, it was so loud and at one point the sound started to fade away. She fell to the ground, her hands and knees stung from the impact. She looked down and saw a dead bluebird. Its body was contorted and bending in different directions. She screamed and everything became black.  
She shot up straight when she woke up, she was breathing really heavily. She looked around her, she was at her campsite. It was just a nightmare. She sighed and took a few minutes to collect herself. That was… intense. She got up from where she was sleeping and packed up her stuff, she slung the bag onto her arm and took out her map. After a quick look she was off again. Valerie couldn't stop thinking about her nightmare. first of all it was terrifying, second she was back in her village, third there was there a dead bird.  
Walking for a bit definitely calmed her nerves. She looked at her map again; she was two miles away from her first stop, a small trading post named riddles stone. There was a small town nearby named riddle’s eye. It was a well known place but had very little tourists. While distracted by the map Valerie failed to see a masked figure climb up a tree to avoid being seen.  
After putting her map back in her bag the masked figure jumped down from a tree above her. They had a loaded bow pointed at her  
She froze, the figure stared at her; they wore a blue scarf and pants with a light brown poncho-cloak, their mask was plain white the only thing on it were two black eyeholes. “Who are you and why are you here.” the figure said. “My name is Valerie, I was sent by my kingdom to gather materials.” the figure stiffened at the word kingdom but quickly relaxed. “What kingdom?” they asked. “Acen.” Valerie replied and they lowered their bow. “Oh, ok, I thought you came from Guptu. Are you lost?” Valerie shook her head “No, I have a map but I do need a place to stay the night.” The figure froze once more but this time not out of fear they looked like they were thinking. “You can spend the night with me.”


	4. 3

Zelus walked peacefully with his mask on and looked out to the thousands of trees around him. He was doing his ‘patrol’ before dinner, he knew it was probably useless but- SNAP  
His eyes flew to his left. There was a girl with a green cloak and armor on and she was holding a map, her white hair hung over her shoulder in a ponytail. He quickly climbed the tree next to him. He observed her from above, he grabbed his bow, loaded it and dropped down right in front of her.  
She jumped a bit and her green eyes widened. Her eyes then dropped to the arrow he had loaded in his bow. “Who are you and why are you here.” he asked if she was from Guptu, if she was sent here. “My name is Valerie, I was sent by my kingdom to gather materials.” kingdom that scared him, but, she didn't say which one. “What kingdom?” he asked.  
“Acen.” she said. Oh, that's good. He thought, he lowered his bow. Acen was a fairly large and well known kingdom, but it was kinda far away. “Oh, ok, I thought you came from Guptu. Are you lost?” he asked. Valerie shook her head, “No, I have a map but I do need a place to stay the night.” he looked at her for a second, she didn't look dangerous. ‘You know what? Why not.’ He thought to himself. “You can spend the night with me.”  
He walked her all the way to the cabin, he explained to her that they had only been here for a few days when she questioned ‘they’ he told her about his sister. Once they got there Valerie said “wow it really is run down.” Zelus laughed and opened the door, “hey Ada! We have a guest!” Ada perked up from behind her blanket. “Really?” she asked “yeah. Ada, this is Valerie, Valerie this is my sister Ada.” Valerie waved to the smaller girl on the couch. She wore a deep maroon cloak with a hood over her head, She had lots of freckles, her reddish hair spilled over her shoulders.   
“Well I guess we should start with dinner.” zelus said after taking his mask off. He walked over to the kitchen and started to prep. Valerie walked over to help “so you said you were out here for a little over a week?” she asked. “Yeah, It's been a bit hard but we're surviving I guess.”  
She snorted and asked what the cabin was like before they fixed it. “Oh it was terrible! There were broken things everywhere, the paint was peeling, not that I did anything about that, and The window over there was gone.” he said. Ada decided to jump into the conversation “he means the window that's barely fixed.” she said jokingly. “I'm gonna fix it! Geez you have no faith in me…”  
Zelus said with a pout and Valerie snickered again.   
After dinner was made Zelus helped Ada get to the table and they all sat down to eat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Valerie walked with this random stranger, Zelus, to his cabin. When they got there the place looked abandoned. “We have been living here for a week or so, this place looked much worse.” he said. “We?” she asked, she didn't know anybody else was there. “Yeah my sister Ada lives here with me.” ‘oh’ she thought.  
When they got inside Zelus announced his presence to a small girl on the couch. She sat up a bit and looked at Valerie. she looked very sickly, heavy, dark bags under her eyes and she was way too skinny. Zelus introduced them and Valerie waved at Ada. Valerie turned around to see Zelus taking off his mask. He looked fairly normal; he had brown hair, reddish brown eyes, and a huge birthmark starting at his chin and ending right under his left eye. “Well I guess we should start with dinner.” he added.  
Valerie helped make dinner, it was pretty simple just some meat and potatoes. She looked over to Zelus which was flipping what she assumed was venison over. He looked slightly out of it, maybe he was thinking of something slightly upsetting? She didn't know.  
After finishing cooking Valerie brought everything to the small beaten up table and Zelus helped his sister walk over. She looked as Ada struggled to walk, did something happen to her leg? Eh. it was probably none of her business, she shouldnt intrude. Ada finally got to her chair and sat down. She took a breath like it was a hard thing to do. Zelus sat next to her so Valerie sat across from him. They ate in a comfortable silence only occasionally breaking the silence to make small talk. After dinner was over Zelus and Valerie helped clean up, Ada hobbled over to the couch without Zelus’ help. Valerie decided to ask what was up “Is Ada ok? It seems like she’s having trouble walking.” Zelus sighed sadly and turned to her “Ada is sick, we don't know what it is or if it’s curable but one of her symptoms is weakness, Today it looks pretty bad.” Valerie took in the new information “oh. If you don't mind me asking, when did she get sick?” Zelus put away the last dish and said “around half a year ago, though it got worse over time.”   
Valerie felt bad, but maybe she could help Ada. Acen was known for their medical advancements and knew about cures for many illnesses, maybe she could take them home with her. “Hey Zelus?” she said. “Yeah? What's up?” he said casually. “Acen is known for their medical knowledge, when I finish my quest I could bring you and Ada home with me.” Zelus almost dropped a cup and turned to her with a look of hope on his face “really?” she smiled and said “Yes.” he smiled back “I can't wait to tell Ada.” he whispered.


	5. Adventure:)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woo yeah yeah woo yeah

Ada is sitting on the couch playing with a rubix cube, she usually never solved them but found it fun anyway. One day she’ll solve it. The talking in the kitchen stopped, she hadn't been paying attention but she didn't care anyway. Her brother was talking with Valerie, Valerie was nice. She was kinda happy she got to see somebody other than her brother and random bugs. She sighed and put down the cube, at the same time Zelus and Valerie walked into the room. Ada saw the huge smiles on their faces, maybe She would see her again.   
“Valerie has got some good news for you.” he prompted Valerie to speak. “I come from Acen, and I was thinking after going on my quest… I could take you both home with me! But that's not all! Acen has many scientists and they all know cures for many illnesses, they might be able to help you!” she said excitedly. Throughout her speech Ada’s eyes slowly lit up. “You really think they can help me?!” she asked excitedly. Valerie nodded. Ada turned to Zelus with a huge smile on her face “we have to start packing.” 

And they did just that. Valerie stayed two more days to help them pack so that when she came bad she would help them move. They put all important resources in one bag. And personal items in different ones. Valerie would leave the next day, they would wait a little under a month for her to come back. If things went as planned… They were all asleep in the small cabin, unaware of the Guptu soldiers advancing toward the property. The king wanted more land. Zelus awoke to the sound of shouting. “THERE’S A CABIN OVER HERE” an unknown voice shouts. “I WANT TWO SOILDERS TO INVESTIGATE IT” a deeper voice says. “YES SIR” two voices shout back.   
At that moment Zelus knew he had to go. He rushed to where Valerie was sleeping and woke her up, his urgency got the message across. Zelus grabbed the essentials and Valerie grabbed their personal items. Once they had everything the soldiers had busted in. Valerie escaped through a window and Zelus put Ada on his back and he tried to get out as fast as possible. “THERE'S TRESPASSERS” a soldier spotted him. He ran as fast as he could and caught up to valerie. all of them were terrified. They ran until they reached a lake, and they looked behind them. The soldiers were long gone.  
Zelus put ada down and collapsed to the ground. Valerie sat down and took some deep breaths. “What are we going to do?” Ada says, a feeling of hopelessness seeping into her voice. Zelus looks up to her and responds “I don't know. If we go back they'll kill us, we have to find someplace to stay.” Valerie looks to Zelus then turns to look at Ada. “well maybe you could come with me?” Zelus looks at her and she looks back, Ada looks at the both of them. “I don't think Ada would be safe if we were constantly moving.” he says. You could tell he was hopeful but scared. Valerie put a hand on Zelus’s shoulder “we can protect her, You and I.” she said smiling slightly. “I guess you're right” he responds to both him and Ada smiling.  
Valerie woke up to the sound of something small skittering around her, she sat up and saw a small sandy colored creature. The thing looked up at her and crawled slightly closer. She held out her hand and the thing climbed on. He lifted the creature up so she could see it better. It had long hind legs and short front legs, it had a long tail and ears: it was a Jerboa. The Jerboa looked at her and leaned in closer; she noticed it was looking at her familiar summoning pin. She looked at the pin and the Jerboa seemed to nod at her. This was her familiar. She put the jerboa back on the ground and excitedly woke up Zelus. “Ughhh” he groaned sleepily. “Zelus the familiar summoner worked!” he flipped around tiredly and looked at the small creature Valerie was looking at. “It looks like a mutated rat Val.” he says unamused. Valerie rolled her eyes and spoke to the Jerboa “don't listen to him he’s just cranky” Zelus huffed out a small laugh and sat up. “What should I name them Z?” Valerie asked Zelus. “Call them... poncho the mighty destroyer” he suggested. Valerie shook her head “um no.” Zelus pretended to think “ok, name them… tiny rat.” he said. Valerie laughed “Noooooo! I'm not naming them that.” Zelus laughed with her. “Well Idk how to come up with names so you should ask Ada.”  
When Ada woke up Valerie and Zelus were already up. She sat up as much as she could and looked over to them. Valerie had a small creature in her hands. Ada’s eyes widened “ooohhhh cool! What type of animal is that?” she asked. “This is a mutant rat and it's Valerie’s familiar.” Zelus said with a smirk. Valerie lightly smacked Zelus’s arm and he presented it hurt. “They are not a rat, They're a Jerboa and I don't know what to name them.” Ada smiled wider “can I help!” she asked. “Of course!” Valerie said holding out the jerboa so Ada could look at it. The small creature looked up at her and cocked its head to the side. Ada said the first name that came to mind. “I think Biscuit suits them.” Valerie looked at her familiar and nodded. “Biscuit it is.” Zelus groaned next to her “poncho the mighty destroyer was good too” he pouts. “Oh totally, a close runner up.” she says sarcastically.


	6. Sharp elbows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m naming chapters now

After gathering their blankets and eating a quick breakfast of grains; Valerie, Zelus, Ada and of course Biscuit, headed off farther into the woods. Biscuit hopped up to Valerie's shoulder and sat in her cloak’s hood. The air was chilly but all of them were warm. Ada looked up to the sky “It looks like it might start snowing soon.” she stated. Zelus and Valerie looked up too “oh yeah maybe.” Zelus said. “Ugh I hate when it snows, I don't even have snowshoes!” Valerie groaned. “Well we are getting close to that big kingdom, what was it called?” Zelus asked. “you mean kaligarrah?” Valerie asked. “Yeah yeah, that one. They've got, like, one of the best trading posts. They get stuff shipped from six different places.” he told her like he was bragging about it. “They might have some snow shoes there.” he offered.   
Valerie looked back to him “but that's off our path, we're supposed to be heading to Reenahchi.” she sounded disappointed. Valerie needs the snow shoes but she didn't want to take more time than necessary. Ada spoke up “Val, you're gonna need the shoes. Plus it'd be a good idea to stock up on supplies.” Zelus nodded his head agreeing with Ada. “the short one is right” (that earned him an elbow in the side) “HEY! Ow! that hurt!” Ada just smiled “then don't call me short. Easy” Zelus looked down to her with a deadpan face “but you are.” Ada elbows him in the thigh this time. “OW! WHY ARE YOUR ELBOWS SO SHARP!?” he yelled. Ada just looked up at him with a mock innocent smile.  
Zelus switched places with Valerie and led the group to Kaligarrah’s famous trading post. It took them almost the whole day, once they reached it it was nighttime. “Maybe we should stay in an inn.” Ada suggested. “Haha that rhymed” Zelus added, holding out a fist bump for Ada that was never met. As zelus pouted about being left hanging, Valerie found them all a place to stay for the night.  
“A three bed room for one night will be 30 coins” the Inn owner said unenthusiastically. “Ok.” Valerie said. She pulled out 30 coins from her bag. It was a bit expensive but hey, what were they gonna do? They all headed to their room Zelus and Ada were surprised Valerie even had 30 coins on her. Zelus took the bed closest to the door, Ada took the middle bed and Valerie took the bed near the window. Zelus and Ada were already half asleep on the comfy beds but Valerie was wide awake.  
‘What if I'm too late and all of my kingdom is dead?’ she thought. ‘Am I failing them?’ she began to cry. What if she wasn't enough? Zelus broke out of his sleepy state when he heard Valerie crying. ‘Is she sad, is she hurt?’ he wondered. “Hey val, you ok?” He asked quietly as to not wake up Ada. Valerie only sniffled in response. Zelus sat up and walked over to Valerie's bed. He gently lowered himself onto the bed sitting next to her. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked ready to listen. Valerie looked at him and shook her head no. It hurt Zelus to see her unhappy. “Do you want a hug?” he offered. Valerie nodded and he turned to her and wrapped his arms around her. “You're ok. I've got you” he reassured   
When the trio (Plus Biscuit) woke up they all immediately headed to the market. They bought some breakfast and Valerie made sure that Biscuit was fed some grains. While Valerie was buying some food for biscuit on the road, a group of four teenagers walked up to them. One of the boys looked at Zelus and said “what's that on your face!?” while pointing at Zelus’s birthmark. Before Zelus could speak a girl commented “hey leo, don't get too close. He might be infected.” she snickered. A different boy replied “yeah I wouldn't want that on my face it's so ugly.” the whole group of teens laughed and began to walk away, but before they could, Valerie walked up to them. “Excuse me what did you just say?” she said, anger boiling under her skin. The teens looked at her and then each other. One of the girls said “we were just joking around, step off.” Valerie only got more mad “I don't care if you are joking or not. You will apologize to him.” One of the boys scoffed “and what will you do if we don't?” he questioned. Valerie took out her wand and did a small fire trick. Valerie wasn't planning on hurting them, just spooking them a bit, and well, it worked. The two girls and one of the boys apologised immediately. The last boy, Leo, looked to his friends before putting on an annoyed face and apologising.  
After the teens walked away Valerie turned back to look at Zelus. He looked... down for lack of better words. “Are you ok Z?” she asked him. “Yeah I'm fine, It's just.” he paused “It hurts you know?” he said sadly. Ada who was next to him comforting him said “In our old kingdom, Guptu, Zelus was bullied every day. Sometimes he would come home with bruises.” she said with a sad look in her eyes. Valerie looked at them and even though she wasn't ever physically bullied kids would make fun of her naturally white hair, calling her old and other names. She knew what it was like for someone to judge you on how to look and things you can't control.   
After finding the boots that Valerie would need for the now obvious snow storm that was coming, the trio looked around for other things that might come in handy. They bought a backpack to carry some stuff in, some non perishable foods, and Valerie bought some fabric so she could make things they might need. Valerie pulled out her map and started planning which way they had to go. “We have to go north west to reach Reenahchi, that's where we can buy the first oil.” Valerie stated. “Wait how many ingredients do you need?” Zelus said, the tone of his voice indicating that he thought this was gonna take a while. “Oh relax, I only need 4 things from 4 different places.” she explains. “Oh ok. I thought It'd be like 100 things.” he sighs.


	7. Sploosh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idk

Ada looked at the canopy of trees as they made their way to Reenachi, she loved the way she could see the light stream down and then spill onto the rocks and winter foliage. She actually had enough strength to walk without help today. Zelus walked behind her with a backpack full of supplies, and Valerie walked in front of her leading all of them to their destination. it was a beautiful day but it was cold. They'd probably be on this trail for two days at least. It would most likely start snowing tomorrow, Ada didn't like being cold but she liked the way snow looked on trees.  
They walked for the whole day taking occasional breaks for Ada. they ended up getting halfway there before they ran out of daylight. They walked for another half hour before deciding to stop for the night. It was starting to get really cold so they all huddled together and piled on thin blankets and Biscuit layed down on Valerie’s stomach. Once the small Jerboa got comfortable, one by one they all went to sleep.  
Zelus was the first to wake up this time it was extremely cold and he could see a small amount of snow falling. He woke up Ada and Valerie so that they could start going. They ate a very quick breakfast and started heading northwest once again. Before they left their makeshift campsite, Zelus caught something blue out of the corner of his eye. He looked towards it and saw a person in a tree. They had on different values of grey and a white mask with blue triangles on the side their long braided hair dyed blue was slung over their shoulders. Just at that Zelus was alarmed but then he saw that they were armed with a bow. “SOMEONE IS IN THE TREES! GET DOWN!” he yelled. He took out his own bow and pointed it at the stranger. The person lifted their arms up in surrender. They got down from the tree and slowly walked over to Zelus.  
“Can you put the bow down? I'm not here to hurt you.” a masculine voice came from under the mask. “Who are you?” Zelus questioned not lowering his bow. “My name isn't important, I thought you were here for me so I went in the trees to observe.” he said. Zelus kept his bow trained on the stranger “Where are you from?” Zelus asked. “I used to live in Palmante, but I wanted a change so I moved away.” he states. Zelus decided to lower his bow and the stranger’s hands lowered with it. “I'm sorry if I scared you.” the person said. “Yeah ditto.” said Zelus as Valerie and Ada got up from the rock they were hiding behind. “Where are you guys headed?” the stranger asked. “Just to Reenahchi, Why?” said Zelus. “You might want to be careful, there's some bad people living in Reenahchi. I recommend you all wear masks and get out as soon as you have what you need.” he said. “Thank you. What should we call you?” Zelus asked. “I don't like people knowing my real name so you can call me the hunter.” he said. “Ok, well it was nice to meet you.” Zelus said.   
Zelus already has a mask and Valerie had one that her mom made for her expecting her to use it. But Ada didn't have one. Zelus decided that If Reenachi didn't have masks to buy he'd lend his to Ada to keep her safe. As the day was coming to an end and the snow started to stick. They finally reached their destination. Ada stayed just outside the gates with Valerie and Zelus Went in quickly trying to find a mask for Ada. He found a stand with artsy masks and looked at which one his sister might like. He stayed away from pink and green because those were her least favorite color. He found a smooth maroon colored one with dotted white accents. He knew she would like it so he bought it for her using the coins Valerie lended him.   
Once Ada’s mask was on they went further into the city. It was small and filled with carts selling random things. “So we are trying to find a Pinkish oil, if you see it let me know.” Valerie said. Zelus and Ada nodded and looked around. They would stop occasionally to look at different carts and their products. Ada ended up buying some tea she liked the smell of and Valerie bought a little bracelet she used as a collar for Biscuit. Valerie encouraged Zelus to buy something if he saw something he liked. “Maybe. If i find something reaalllyyy special I might buy it.” he said drawing out the ‘really’. About 15 minutes later they came across a cart selling cooking oils and there it was. A one liter bottle of pink oil made from trees native to Reenahchi.  
Valerie quickly picked up the bottle asking if it was genuine. The seller confirmed and she paid 6 coins for it.  
“One Item down!” she said excitedly to Ada and Zelus Ada put a thumb up and Zelus said ‘woo hoo’ as enthusiastically as he could muster. They put the oil in Zelus’s backpack and started heading back to the gate. Once they got there there were two men yelling and threatening at a shopkeep to give them free stuff, It was a robbery. The shopkeeper quickly got what they wanted and put it on the counter for them. One of the two men picked some of it up and motioned for the other to get the rest. Zelus couldn't let that happen; he whispered to Valerie to get herself and Ada out of here. “What are you doing? Are you gonna try to stop them?” she asked. “Yes.” he answered, he walked over to the two men. “Put that stuff back right now.” he said. He knew that wouldn’t do anything but he said it anyway so knew his intentions. “What are you going to do kid” one of the men says. “First of all I'm 24, second,” he pulled out his bow and loaded it faster than they could blink “I'm armed.” he said calmly.   
One of the men put down the items on the counter, the shopkeep putting them back in place. The second man stood there not moving. Zelus kept his bow trained on him and the man just sighed in defeat before returning the items to the shop. “Now go.” Zelus said, his tone firm and commanding. The two men turned away and walked away. Once they were 20 feet away he lowered his bow and turned to the shopkeep. “Thank you so much!” the shopkeep said. Zelus nodded his head “stay safe.” he said before turning to the gate and going to Valerie and Ada.  
They all took their masks off and Valerie started planning the path they would take next. Looking at the map she says “ok, to the next thing is a powder found in the Rocky point trading post.” Zelus looked at the map “that's a little more than the distance from Kaligarrah to Reenahchi so we’ll be fine.” he said. “We should walk for a half hour or so then pick out a camp spot, I don't want to be near Reenahchi.” Valerie suggested. “Ok but my legs are starting to get weak so I might have to be carried” Ada states. “I'll carry you when you can't walk” zelus says and they set off to go find a campsite.  
The next morning, all three wake up around the same time and drink some tea that Ada bought. They shared some bread and then went on their way. “Hey Val, do you like any songs?” Zelus asked. “Yeah I like calm songs. What songs do you like?” she asked back. “I like fast beat songs, my mom used to have a guitar and dang I wished I had one know.” he said. “Oh I meant to ask, where are your parents?” Valerie asked. Ada and Zelus seemed to deflate at the question but Zelus answered anyway. “Our dad moved away when I was seven and before Ada was born, our mom died when I was fifteen.” Valerie turned to the siblings “oh, I'm sorry to hear that. My dad died before I was born. I was raised by my mom.”   
Valerie thought about what Zelus said about their parents and about his love for music.  
She couldn't relate to having no parents, but she could relate to having a missing parent. She wanted to buy Zelus a guitar, maybe I'd make him happy? She didn't know but she wanted to see him smile, if she could find something for Ada she would get that too. She made a plan; she decided that when they got to rocky point, she would find and buy a guitar for Zelus.


	8. Yooooooooooooooo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please go check out my horror story series :))

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Zelus screamed like a girl. Ada held a spider in her hands and walked towards Zelus. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!” he said. “Come on Z! Make friends with the spider!” she said as she chased him. Valerie watched from where she was sitting laughing at the siblings and purifying some river water they came across. “Ok, ok, I can see that you don't want to be friends with mr. spider, I'll put him back.” Ada said, smiling to herself. She had won. Zelus peeked out from behind a tree “Is it gone?” he asked. Ada rolled her eyes and showed him her hands “No spider, he's gone.” Zelus sighed and stepped out from behind the tree. Valerie had no idea Zelus was scared of spiders.  
“You should have seen the look on your face.” Ada was still bragging about scaring the daylights out of Zelus 20 minutes ago. They started walking again and Valerie couldn't stop laughing at their banter. “Well to be fair you came at me with a spider in your hands, and the thing was huge.” Zelus stated. “It was half the size of my pinky nail, you just like to exaggerate.” Ada said, giggling slightly. “No i swear it was like, huge.” Zelus said face scrunching up with the thought of the spider. “Pfft, ok whatever” Ada said teasingly. Zelus looked at Ada “I just don't understand how you could hold the little thing in your hands, like, what if it bit you? He said. Ada looked up at him giggling again. “A spider that small wouldn't be able to hurt us, the little jaws wouldn't be able to bite.” she said.  
When they were halfway there Ada proposed that they all sit and have some water and a snack. And Zelus liked that idea. They found a fallen tree and sat down sharing some water and canned soup they bought at the Kaligarrah trading post. They chatted about how cold it was getting and Ada suggested they all do a “get to know me” game. So they played. “First round favorite colors, go!” Ada said. “I like the color Green.” Valerie said, “I like a reddish orange.” said Zelus. “For me it's a tie between maroon and purple.” Ada said. “We all like the same colors as our eyes.” Valerie noticed. “Ok round two, favorite animal, go!” Ada announced “hmmmm I like all types of animals but I like Biscuit and I think birds look really pretty” Valerie said. “Mmm Imma disagree with you. I don't think the rat is cute but I do like dogs.” Zelus jokes. “I also like lots of animals but I gotta say I prefer bugs.” Ada says. “Ok, last round. What superpower would you want if you could have one? go!” said ada, she was excited for this one. “I would like the power to talk to Animals, I think that would be cool. I'd finally be able to understand Biscuit and Zelus.” Valerie said. Zelus held a hand over his chest, offended. “Well valerie, I would like the power of super speed of invisibility so I could get away from your mean-ness.” Zelus joked. “Or to run away from spiders.” Valerie snickered. Ada laughed so hard her stomach started hurting. “I would like the power to fly. I wanna see the world from a new angle.” Ada said.  
After finishing up their snack they set off again. They made jokes the whole way through that by the time the sky got dark and they started to settle down, all their stomachs hurt. Valerie sat down and started sewing two pieces of cloth together. “You gonna sleep val?” Zelus tiredly asked, valerie could see him struggling to keep his eyes open. “Yeah i just want to do something really quick, go ahead and sleep, ok?” she says softly. “Mmmh” he says before his eyes fall shut and he falls asleep on the spot. She laughs a small bit before continuing to sew. Once she fished she had a square of fabric pouch, she flipped it inside out and filled it with fabric scraps. She sewed it closed and now she had a small pillow. What for? Biscuit, Obviously. She set the pillow on the ground and biscuit jumped off her and got comfy on the pillow she made. Satisfied, she layed down and fell asleep.  
When Valerie came to, she heard music she sat up and found herself on a cliffside. She knew she was in a dream, so she looked around. There was a lovely melody, and she looked around for the source. She saw Zelus sitting on the edge of the cliff and he had a guitar. She got up and walked over to him. She sat down next to him looking down and seeing a field of flowers. A sea of color given motion by the wind. Zelus strumed a pretty and relaxing tune, she began to hum along with it. Ada sat next to her and leaned on her looking out on the flowers. Biscuit came up to her and laid down on her lap. She stopped humming and looked out to the flowers; red, orange, yellow, and pink swirled around like flames and seemed to capture their attention. Like nothing else mattered. She felt herself close her eyes and the music faded away.  
Zelus woke up to a weird sound. He looked around and saw where Ada and Valerie were sleeping. He looked around them and heard it again, he knew what it was. It was a deer. He decided to not pay attention to it. He looked over to Valerie and saw Biscuit on a little pillow. The tiny thing woke up from the noise and looked at him. Zelus held out his hand and let the creature step onto his hand. He brought the Jerboa to his lap and pet it’s head softly “hey there lil bro.” he said and laughed when the creature looked at him in confusion. He continued to pet Biscuit until Valerie woke up, because as soon as she did Biscuit bounded over to her.  
“Do you want some bread?” Ada offered Zelus. “Yeah, I wish we had some fresh-out-of- the-oven bread.” he said. “Once we get to rocky point, we'll try to find some fresh bread.” the siblings nodded their heads furiously. Even Biscuit seemed excited. They put all their things away and started walking again. “Ugh, I wish we had better ways to get around then walking.” Zelus complained. “Imagine if we had a horse.” Ada said. “Wait, actually I think we might be able to do that.” Valerie said. The other looked at her silently telling her to elaborate. “Well we won't have them now, but there's a horse rental service on the Canoii coast which is our second to last stop, we could take two horses and ride to Beyinn. We wouldn't have to walk that far” she explained. “We’ve never been on a horse before.” Zelus said. “It's so much fun and really fast.” she said. “Will I fall off?” he asked. “If you're trying to you will.” Valerie assured him.


	9. Ouchies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I kinda hate the first conflict, I don’t think I wrote it well but I’m still learning :)

//TW: Arrow wound, slight blood, medical care regarding Arrow wound.//

Valerie, Zelus, and Ada noticed that the trees became more and more sparse. “Are we close?” Ada asked. “Yeah rocky point should be just over these rocks.” Valerie answered, and Zelus laughed. “I guess you could say that it rocks.” that earned a little laugh from valerie. They peaked the rocks and saw ruins. “What?” Valerie said. “Where is it?” Zelus said. “Isn't it supposed to be right here?” buildings were leveled and shops seemed abandoned. The whole place looked destroyed. “No, No, this is Rocky point, look there's a sign.” Valerie pointed to an almost unreadable sign. “Something bad happened here, there's no way this is normal.” Zelus said.  
They walked down to the ruined trading post and looked around in amazement at the burned down buildings and beat down carts. “Ok what I think happened is some bad people came and burned it down and everyone left because there was nothing left for them.” Valerie guessed. “That sounds about right. But, why? Why would someone do that?” Ada asked. “I guess we'll never know.” said zelus. “Let's put our masks on and try to find the powder. It's a desaturated red color and is usually used for clay pots.” she explained.  
Zelus picked up pieces of rubble and scanned the area for the item they needed. He came across some vases and walked over to them. He looked around them and didn't find anything. “Did you find it?” Valerie asked when she saw him looking at the pottery. “No.” he replied he looked inside the pots and found small pouches. He picked them all up and looked at the contents. Two held coins, one had some gems and two of them had a reddish powder. “Nevermind I think I found it!” he shouted. Valerie ran over. “Yeah that's the one!” she confirmed. “Ok let's get out of here then, it's kinda creeping me out.” Zelus said. The trio made their way out of the trading post. “Ok where are we going again?” Ada asked. Valerie took out her map well “now we've got to make our way to Canoii, so we still have to move east.” she paused before saying “were going to the town and not the trading post because it's closer and there's a higher chance it'll be genuine.” Ada looked at her “how far away is it?” Valerie looked at the map. “About the same distance we just walked.” Valerie said “if we went to the trading post it would be twice as long.”  
After walking for four hours straight the group needed a rest. It was going to get dark in an hour anyway. “How much progress did we make?” Zelus asked, lying on his back propped up by his forearms. “We are one third of the way there, we could probably make it there if we don't stop to rest tomorrow. We could get there by dark and sleep there for the night.” she said. “Ugh ok, well. I'm going to sleep until you wake me.” he said. “Me too.” Valerie yawned. She took out her want and made a fire to keep them warm. She lied back down and took out Biscuit’s pillow. As soon as her head hit her own pillow she fell asleep.  
“Alright lets gooo!” Zelus said. They began walking again, determined to reach Canoii by the end of the day. Ada’s legs felt slightly weak today so she was a bit slower than usual. Zelus noticed and to speed things up, he picked up Ada. “PUT ME DOWN!” she shouted. “Why? We need to go faster.” Zelus stated thinking she was joking. “So you think I'm slow?” she said, her tone angry bur Zelus not realizing it up. “Yeah, we need to go.” he said. Ada snapped. “YOU ALWAYS TREAT ME LIKE A BABY!” she yelled. Zelus’s eyes were really wide “I dont think youre a baby or weak I just know we have to move faster.” he said. “I CAN DO THINGS MYSELF!” Zelus put her down. “I HATE WHEN YOU DO THAT, WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME DO THINGS MYSELF?” she screamed at him. “YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU COULD!” he yelled back his eyes got glossy with unshed tears, he hated being yelled at. Valerie stood there looking at the pair, she didn't know what to do so she just stood there with a shocked face. Valerie had never seen them fight. ‘They must fight rarely for them to be so amped up’ she thought. “GO AWAY.” Ada screamed. And he did, Zelus ran away from Valerie and Ada. Ada took some deep angry breaths and turned to Valerie. “I'm sorry you had to see that, I just hate when he does that. He just needs some time to cool down. He'll be back to apologise.” she said. 

‘Why did she have to yell? She knows I hate that.’ zelus thought. He stopped walking and sat down on a fallen tree. ‘Do I really baby her?’ he concertered that he might have unconsciously underestimated her. He frowned and got up to turn back ‘I'll just apologize to her, I hope she apologizes for yelling.”

“Ada that's not a healthy way to fix a problem.” Valerie explained. “Zelus cares about you all you have to say is ‘can you not do this anymore’ and he would listen” she said. “I know I probably shouldn't have yelled but he was acting like I was joking with him.” Ada said regretting yelling at her brother. “I don't think he knew what tone you were going for at first.” Valerie said, defending him. “You're probably right, oh boy, I can't believe I snapped at him like that.” she said with a frown on her face. “We should probably go find him.” Ada suggested.

As Zelus was walking back he heard the birds above him chirping, he looked out into the snowy trees and he didn't see a single bird. ‘That's a little weird’ he thought but carried on. As he listened to the birds he realized they sounded a bit weird, but he couldnt put his finger on it. After hearing a particularly long bird call the realization hit him. Those aren't birds. He whipped around and looked up to the trees, there were people up in the trees. crossbows aimed at him. He stumbled back and ran only to stop a moment later when he felt a ripping pain in his left shoulder. He screamed out in agony at the arrow lodged in his back. He started running again, faster this time.

As Valerie and Ada walked in the direction Zelus ran, they heard a scream of pain. They looked at each other eyes wide. “That has to be Zelus! He sounds like he's in pain!” Valerie exclaimed and not even 10 seconds later they saw Zelus running at them telling them to run as well. “GO, GO, RUN!” he screamed. He ran ahead of them and that's when they noticed the arrow in his shoulder. “What happened?!” Valerie yelled. That question would be ignored until they stopped running about 5 minutes later. All three having trouble breathing.   
“What the hell just happened?” Ada said through heavy breaths. “I don't know.” Zelus said. “I heard some whistling in the trees and I thought it was birds, then whoever those people were started shooting at me with crossbows.” he sat down, wincing as his shoulder was moved.  
Ada walked over to Zelus, she kneeled down to hug him careful of his shoulder. “I'm so sorry I yelled at you I never should have done that.” she said, starting to tear up. ‘This never would have happened if I didn't yell.’ she thought to herself. “I'm sorry for underestimating you.” Zelus said. “No, You were just trying to get there faster I was just too caught up in my own anger.” Ada stated. She pulled back from the hug and turned to look at Valerie. “We have to do something about your shoulder.” she mentioned gesturing to the arrow that was stuck in his skin.   
“We can't really do much, It would be a bad Idea to pull it out without medical supplies.” Ada said, her voice laced with worry. “We can walk to Canoii and get medical help there, but we would have to leave the arrow in and if I move it to much it might damage my shoulder more.” Zelus said. “I could take a look.” said a familiar voice from the trees. All three jumped and looked up to the trees. There stood the hunter, looking so casual about showing up so randomly. “Oh I'm sorry if I scared you.” he said. “How did you get here?” Zelus questioned. “I travel around alot, I heard a scream so I came over here to see if something bad was happening. I saw you guys running and Knew you needed help.” he said jumping down from his spot in the tree. “Let me have a look. I have some supplies with me.” he said walking towards the group. They didn't fully trust this man but decided to see what he might do.   
After successfully pulling the arrow out, which caused Zelus’ poncho to soak with blood, the hunter searched the wound for debris and disinfected the wound before deciding to sucher it. Zelus pulled down his shirt so the hunter could access his wound. “can you bite down on this,” the hunter said, holding out a piece of thick cloth. “I don't have any pain killing potions” he said.  
“I might be able to help slightly.” Valerie said walking over to Zelus taking her wand out. “I don't know if this will work but I might be able to ease the pain a bit with a spell.” at the word spell, Biscuit perked up. Zelus nodded and she held out her wand he focused on her intention. Biscuit stood up fully and closed their eyes. The hunter began to stitch the wound shut, Zelus expected to feel a burning pain, but to him it just felt like little thorn pricks. The spell was working. After the hunter was done, Valerie lowered her wand and the pain came back as a dull throb.  
“Thank you so much.” Zelus said, shaking the hunter’s hand. “If you ever need anything come find us.” the hunter chuckled “you're welcome. I don't need anything back, just helping you was enough for me.” he said before stepping back. “I'll go now, be safe.” he said before climbing a tree and disappearing into the forest.


	10. -_-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If any chapters are out of order blame google drive ok...
> 
> This is a repeat of the last chapter just skip (I tried to fix this but ohhh boy this was hard)

//TW: Arrow wound, slight blood, medical care regarding Arrow wound.//

Valerie, Zelus, and Ada noticed that the trees became more and more sparse. “Are we close?” Ada asked. “Yeah rocky point should be just over these rocks.” Valerie answered, and Zelus laughed. “I guess you could say that it rocks.” that earned a little laugh from valerie. They peaked the rocks and saw ruins. “What?” Valerie said. “Where is it?” Zelus said. “Isn't it supposed to be right here?” buildings were leveled and shops seemed abandoned. The whole place looked destroyed. “No, No, this is Rocky point, look there's a sign.” Valerie pointed to an almost unreadable sign. “Something bad happened here, there's no way this is normal.” Zelus said.  
They walked down to the ruined trading post and looked around in amazement at the burned down buildings and beat down carts. “Ok what I think happened is some bad people came and burned it down and everyone left because there was nothing left for them.” Valerie guessed. “That sounds about right. But, why? Why would someone do that?” Ada asked. “I guess we'll never know.” said zelus. “Let's put our masks on and try to find the powder. It's a desaturated red color and is usually used for clay pots.” she explained.  
Zelus picked up pieces of rubble and scanned the area for the item they needed. He came across some vases and walked over to them. He looked around them and didn't find anything. “Did you find it?” Valerie asked when she saw him looking at the pottery. “No.” he replied he looked inside the pots and found small pouches. He picked them all up and looked at the contents. Two held coins, one had some gems and two of them had a reddish powder. “Nevermind I think I found it!” he shouted. Valerie ran over. “Yeah that's the one!” she confirmed. “Ok let's get out of here then, it's kinda creeping me out.” Zelus said. The trio made their way out of the trading post. “Ok where are we going again?” Ada asked. Valerie took out her map well “now we've got to make our way to Canoii, so we still have to move east.” she paused before saying “were going to the town and not the trading post because it's closer and there's a higher chance it'll be genuine.” Ada looked at her “how far away is it?” Valerie looked at the map. “About the same distance we just walked.” Valerie said “if we went to the trading post it would be twice as long.”  
After walking for four hours straight the group needed a rest. It was going to get dark in an hour anyway. “How much progress did we make?” Zelus asked, lying on his back propped up by his forearms. “We are one third of the way there, we could probably make it there if we don't stop to rest tomorrow. We could get there by dark and sleep there for the night.” she said. “Ugh ok, well. I'm going to sleep until you wake me.” he said. “Me too.” Valerie yawned. She took out her want and made a fire to keep them warm. She lied back down and took out Biscuit’s pillow. As soon as her head hit her own pillow she fell asleep.  
“Alright lets gooo!” Zelus said. They began walking again, determined to reach Canoii by the end of the day. Ada’s legs felt slightly weak today so she was a bit slower than usual. Zelus noticed and to speed things up, he picked up Ada. “PUT ME DOWN!” she shouted. “Why? We need to go faster.” Zelus stated thinking she was joking. “So you think I'm slow?” she said, her tone angry bur Zelus not realizing it up. “Yeah, we need to go.” he said. Ada snapped. “YOU ALWAYS TREAT ME LIKE A BABY!” she yelled. Zelus’s eyes were really wide “I dont think youre a baby or weak I just know we have to move faster.” he said. “I CAN DO THINGS MYSELF!” Zelus put her down. “I HATE WHEN YOU DO THAT, WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME DO THINGS MYSELF?” she screamed at him. “YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU COULD!” he yelled back his eyes got glossy with unshed tears, he hated being yelled at. Valerie stood there looking at the pair, she didn't know what to do so she just stood there with a shocked face. Valerie had never seen them fight. ‘They must fight rarely for them to be so amped up’ she thought. “GO AWAY.” Ada screamed. And he did, Zelus ran away from Valerie and Ada. Ada took some deep angry breaths and turned to Valerie. “I'm sorry you had to see that, I just hate when he does that. He just needs some time to cool down. He'll be back to apologise.” she said. 

‘Why did she have to yell? She knows I hate that.’ zelus thought. He stopped walking and sat down on a fallen tree. ‘Do I really baby her?’ he concertered that he might have unconsciously underestimated her. He frowned and got up to turn back ‘I'll just apologize to her, I hope she apologizes for yelling.”

“Ada that's not a healthy way to fix a problem.” Valerie explained. “Zelus cares about you all you have to say is ‘can you not do this anymore’ and he would listen” she said. “I know I probably shouldn't have yelled but he was acting like I was joking with him.” Ada said regretting yelling at her brother. “I don't think he knew what tone you were going for at first.” Valerie said, defending him. “You're probably right, oh boy, I can't believe I snapped at him like that.” she said with a frown on her face. “We should probably go find him.” Ada suggested.

As Zelus was walking back he heard the birds above him chirping, he looked out into the snowy trees and he didn't see a single bird. ‘That's a little weird’ he thought but carried on. As he listened to the birds he realized they sounded a bit weird, but he couldnt put his finger on it. After hearing a particularly long bird call the realization hit him. Those aren't birds. He whipped around and looked up to the trees, there were people up in the trees. crossbows aimed at him. He stumbled back and ran only to stop a moment later when he felt a ripping pain in his left shoulder. He screamed out in agony at the arrow lodged in his back. He started running again, faster this time.

As Valerie and Ada walked in the direction Zelus ran, they heard a scream of pain. They looked at each other eyes wide. “That has to be Zelus! He sounds like he's in pain!” Valerie exclaimed and not even 10 seconds later they saw Zelus running at them telling them to run as well. “GO, GO, RUN!” he screamed. He ran ahead of them and that's when they noticed the arrow in his shoulder. “What happened?!” Valerie yelled. That question would be ignored until they stopped running about 5 minutes later. All three having trouble breathing.  
“What the hell just happened?” Ada said through heavy breaths. “I don't know.” Zelus said. “I heard some whistling in the trees and I thought it was birds, then whoever those people were started shooting at me with crossbows.” he sat down, wincing as his shoulder was moved.  
Ada walked over to Zelus, she kneeled down to hug him careful of his shoulder. “I'm so sorry I yelled at you I never should have done that.” she said, starting to tear up. ‘This never would have happened if I didn't yell.’ she thought to herself. “I'm sorry for underestimating you.” Zelus said. “No, You were just trying to get there faster I was just too caught up in my own anger.” Ada stated. She pulled back from the hug and turned to look at Valerie. “We have to do something about your shoulder.” she mentioned gesturing to the arrow that was stuck in his skin.  
“We can't really do much, It would be a bad Idea to pull it out without medical supplies.” Ada said, her voice laced with worry. “We can walk to Canoii and get medical help there, but we would have to leave the arrow in and if I move it to much it might damage my shoulder more.” Zelus said. “I could take a look.” said a familiar voice from the trees. All three jumped and looked up to the trees. There stood the hunter, looking so casual about showing up so randomly. “Oh I'm sorry if I scared you.” he said. “How did you get here?” Zelus questioned. “I travel around alot, I heard a scream so I came over here to see if something bad was happening. I saw you guys running and Knew you needed help.” he said jumping down from his spot in the tree. “Let me have a look. I have some supplies with me.” he said walking towards the group. They didn't fully trust this man but decided to see what he might do.  
After successfully pulling the arrow out, which caused Zelus’ poncho to soak with blood, the hunter searched the wound for debris and disinfected the wound before deciding to sucher it. Zelus pulled down his shirt so the hunter could access his wound. “can you bite down on this,” the hunter said, holding out a piece of thick cloth. “I don't have any pain killing potions” he said.  
“I might be able to help slightly.” Valerie said walking over to Zelus taking her wand out. “I don't know if this will work but I might be able to ease the pain a bit with a spell.” at the word spell, Biscuit perked up. Zelus nodded and she held out her wand he focused on her intention. Biscuit stood up fully and closed their eyes. The hunter began to stitch the wound shut, Zelus expected to feel a burning pain, but to him it just felt like little thorn pricks. The spell was working. After the hunter was done, Valerie lowered her wand and the pain came back as a dull throb.  
“Thank you so much.” Zelus said, shaking the hunter’s hand. “If you ever need anything come find us.” the hunter chuckled “you're welcome. I don't need anything back, just helping you was enough for me.” he said before stepping back. “I'll go now, be safe.” he said before climbing a tree and disappearing into the forest.


	11. Actually new

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guitar boyyyyy

After the hunter left, the trio started walking once again to Canoii. They didn't take any breaks and talked very minimally. All of them were a little shaken, Zelus just got injured and they had no idea who would want to hurt them. They moved quickly through the trees and snow and by the end of the day, they could see the Canoii coast in the distance. They decided to keep going until they got there. Soon they could see the glimmering water up close and the small but hearty kingdom. They found a place to sleep and fell asleep rather quickly.   
Zelus woke up to a burning pain in his back. “Ugh” he groaned before remembering yesterday’s events. He rolled over so his shoulder wouldnt hurt so much and found out that Valerie was missing. He shot up to a sitting position and he confirmed what he already knew. Valrie was gone and he and Ada were left behind. He looked over to where she was sleeping and found Biscuit on their little pillow. That relieved him a bit, if something bad happened to her biscuit would not be this calm for even here to begin with. He got up and went to look for Valerie.  
He left the Inn they slept in and walked the streets looking for Valerie. He eventually found her at a stand that was selling different cooking supplies. She bought a bottle of yellowish oil. She noticed he was there and held up the bottle. “I got it! We can head out to the trading post after Ada wakes up!” she said. “And I have a Surprise for you back at the Inn.” she said with a slight whisper.  
When they got back Ada was already awake and playing with Biscuit who was jumping over her hands. “It's about time you two got back I was starting to think you guys left without me.” she laughed. “Nah, I'm sure you'd find us and bug us til’ the day we die.” Zelus said with a smirk. Ada rolled her eyes and went back to entertaining Biscuit. “Anyway your gift is over here.” Valerie said, walking over to her bed and kneeling down. Zelus walked over slowly, slightly nervous. Valerie reached under the bed, grabbed something and slowly pulled it out.  
It was a guitar. Zelus froze in his tracks and examined the instrument; the wood was polished and shiny a light reddish brown, the neck was a darked colored wood and the frets were made with a nice shiny metal.  
“You… you didn't have to do that Val.” he said. Valerie handed the guitar over to him. “I wanted to.” he stared at the quitar in his hands and then looked back up to her. “You have no idea how much this means to me.” they could see his eyes starting to get glossy. “Thank you so much Val.” he said, placing the guitar on the bed softly and pulling her into a hug. She immediately returned the hug “it's nothing Z, you gotta play something for us.” she said. “Oh, right! Hold on lemme think.” he said letting her go and sitting on the side of the bed. He pulled the guitar to his lap. He closed his eyes and thought for a second strumming the guitar. The guitar was tuned and ready to be played. He played the first few notes; G, D, E minor, A minor, C, E minor. He played a sweet but sad tune and hummed softly to the rhythm.   
Once they got all packed up and Zelus put away his guitar in a protective case, they headed to the other end of the oceanic kingdom. “There it is. The horse rental service” Valerie pointed to a barn at the end of the street. They walked past all the store fronts and made their way over. They walked up to a man who seemed to be the owner. “How much is a horse rental for a one way trip?” Valerie asked. “70 coins per person.” he said, chewing on a toothpick. Valerie took out her coin pouch and counted how much she had. “I only have 150 coins, and we still need some for the last ingredient.” She looked over to Zelus and Ada. “I can ride with Zelus.” Ada suggested. “We would only need two horses then.” the man looked at them. “You short on money?” he said. “We have enough but it's a little tight.” Zelus said.   
“I've been there before, you kids shouldn't have to go through that.” the man grumbled. “Listen I'll cut you a deal, 50 for two horses.” he offered. The trio looked at him “That's very kind of you, are you sure you can do that for us?” Valerie asked and the man nodded. She handed him 50 coins and 10 minutes later they were getting on their horses.   
“Woah look Val, I'm finally taller than Zelus!” Ada said with a smirk, sitting atop the brown horse. “Not for long.” Zelus said getting on the same horse as her. “Ugh you're no fun.” she said with fake annoyance. Zelus laughed and reached around Ada to get the reins. Valerie climbed up on the light gray horse and grabbed the reins. “Alright, now we head to ‘the three towns’ trading post.” she said, taking a quick look at the map before waving the man who gave them the horses goodbye. She made the horse walk out and began to pick up speed, Zelus and Ada following closely behind. Soon, both horses were running.  
Valerie looked out upon the fields that they were running across, looking at the way the tall grass swayed. the soft thuds that the horse’s hooves created sounded nice to her. She looked back at Zelus and Ada, Zelus let Ada take the reins and he held onto her. She looked forward again, looking into the distance she saw a river “that's the beyinn river! were super close!” she exclaimed. Zelus added a ‘whoop whoop!’ and Ada cheered as loud as she could.   
After passing the river they found themselves at the trading post. They rode to the stables the post had and put the horses away. “Alright we just need to find this one ingredient and then we can go home!” Valerie said, leading the group through the crowded streets. They checked every booth and eventually found an oils and spices shop that was sure to have what they needed. Valerie scanned through the oils and her eyes landed on and orangey oil labeled “Sáles fish oil.” She picked up the glass bottle and looked at the seller. “Is this genuine?” she asked. “It was cut 50/50 with water, they were running low.” they replied. Valerie looked down at the bottle in her hands and looked back up. “Do you have a full one?” she asked. “ I can probably use this but the 100% oil would be preferable.” The seller looked under the counter and then the back shelves quickly checking them but coming back with nothing. “We don't have a non-diluted Sáles fish oil in stock.” they said. “There's a chance there could be some in Sáles but the fish that they make the oil with are migrating this time of year.” Valerie nodded in understanding. “How much is this?” valerie asked. “Thats 15 coins.” the seller said. Valerie handed them 15 coins and the seller handed her a bag. “Have a good day!” Valerie said. “You too!”  
Once they got the oil they had to make their way to Sáles. Lucky for them, there was a road for travelers and they were able to walk there by the end of the day. “Ok, Plans for tomorrow, we will walk from here to Acen, we should try to travel around wolvia because they're kinda in a war right now.” Valerie said pointing to all the places on the map. “Wow, so we basically went in a circle.” Zelus said. Valerie put the map away and got Biscuit of her shoulder. She grabbed them a snack and sat down so they could eat. Zelus pulled out his guitar and played some songs before they all went to sleep.


	12. What’s goin on?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arg imma pirate (I’m so tired)

The hunter was just chilling in a tree looking up through the bare trees. He heard some sounds below him and looked to the forest floor. There were 3 soldiers down there, he was about to jump down and ask them why they were here before he saw that there were more. They could easily over power me. He decided to watch from a distance. He listened in to a conversation two of the soldiers were having. “Why are we going to wolvia?” soldier one said. “The king wants us to help them out and get the rebellion under control.” soldier two responded. “Ugh why, if they're rebelling they are probably doing it for a reason.” S1 said. “Are you questioning the king’s orders?” S2 said accusingly. “NO! No, no, I wouldn't go against our ruler. I am loyal to Guptu.” S1 said hurriedly. S2 looked at S1 “as you should”  
As soon as the trio woke up they got going. They ate along the way, not wanting to waste time. “Are you guys excited to see my home?” Valerie asked. Zelus and Ada both said yes and that they were excited to start new. “The only thing I'm not excited for is sleeping in the streets.” Zelus frowned. Valerie looked at Zelus “wait, you really think I'd let you sleep in the streets?” she asked. “Well, yeah.” he said. “There's no reason you wouldn't.” said Ada. “No way! There's no way I'd let you do that. You're staying with me and my mom until we can find a better place.” Valerie said. “You- you'd do that for us?” Zelus asked. He looked down at Valerie with a hopeful look on his face. “Of course dummy.” she replied.   
The trio made it to Wolvia and were carefully trying to make it past when it happened. “HALT!” a deep voice said. All three stopped in their tracks and turned to the voice. Zelus and Ada's eyes widened. Guptu Soldiers, and lots of them. A soldier walks up to them “who are you three?” he asks. Valerie speaks up “we are from Acen and are heading there now.” the soldier blinked. “And what business do you have in Wolvia?” he said lowly. “We came from Sáles actually.” she stated. “Wait a minute.” a different soldier said. “That's the guy we exiled a month ago, I’d recognise that freak anywhere” the soldier in front of them narrowed his eyes and spoke again. “I'll ask again. Why are you here.” he said, venom in his voice. “I told the truth sir, I-” she was cut off. “Are you helping the traitors do this ‘rebellion’ because if you are you're in big trouble.” Zelus talked this time “sir we have said two times that we are heading to Acen. we have no business with Wolvia.” he looked at the guard and kept his ground. Without looking away from them, the soldier backed up. the trio thought that he finally got the memo and he would leave them alone, but… “take them in for questioning.” he ordered. Their eyes went wide as the soldiers advanced towards them. They considered running but bows were pointed at them and it would probably be better if they didn't fight. Zelus braced himself, he knew he was about to be restrained by the soldiers. He waited for their hands to push and shove him but it never came.   
“AAAH!” one of the soldiers screamed. Zelus’s eyes snapped open and he looked towards the noise. The soldier had an arrow stuck in his armour, sticking out of the shoulder piece. Another soldier yelped in surprise when another arrow struck his shield. Zelus tried to find out where the arrows were now pouring from. He saw a figure in gray and blue in the trees, it was The hunter. The trio watched as he shot arrow after arrow at the soldiers. He never actually hit them, he aimed so that it would scare the soldiers. Once they found out where the hunter was, they started firing back at him the arrows never came close. When one of the Arrows stuck the leader a little too close to the opening of his armor, he shouted “Retreat!” and the Soldiers ran away in the direction of wolvia. Once they were all gone, the hunter dropped from the tree.   
After helping him grab the arrows on the ground, the trio thanked him. “Hey it's no problem. They shouldn't have messed with you.” he said jokingly. “Well, let us know if there’s anything we can do to repay your kindness.” Valerie said. The hunter shook his head and climbed up the tree, making his way to the top pretty quickly. “See you again one day!” Zelus shouted so he could hear. The hunter gave him a thumbs up and disappeared into the trees.  
The three of them had made it past Wolvia and were on their way to Acen. Ada listened to the sound of the snow crunching beneath her feet when she felt suddenly faint. She stopped walking and held her head to try and ground herself. Zelus and Valerie stopped too and looked at her. “You ok Ada?” Zelus asked in a worried tone. “I feel faint, can we find somewhere to take a break?” Ada said softly, still rubbing circles into her skull. “Of course,” said valerie. She scanned the area and looked for a place they could sit down. Something caught her eye. In the trees was an old stone building, most of it was still staging but it looked worse for wear. She walked towards it and she saw the whole place was covered in vines, honeysuckles, and small blue flowers. Once she got to what used to be the front door, she made an attempt to read the faded sign. “Hyacinth’s church.”   
Valerie welcomed Zelus and Ada into the church and they sat down in the pews. Valerie decided to look around. This church was in the middle of nowhere and it looked like nobody had been here for years. Some of the stained glass windows were intact, showing tall figures in flowing robes. She looked towards the back of the church, there was a statue of a lady in a robe with her hands positioned in a circle near her chest within her hands was a crystal. Valerie walked over to the statue and looked around the base. There seemed to be offerings, to whoever this was. Wine and bread (which is now hard as a rock and moldy) were littered around the base and lots of small coins and jewels were also among the offerings. She creeped around to the back of the statue and saw a lectern with a book positioned on it. She looked at the book and tried to read the cover, but the leather on the front was so worn down it was almost impossible. She flipped through the pages and saw pictures of what seemed to be godly figures, each had a separate page. There were some other pages with rituals and other practices. Valerie stepped away from the book and went to search the back rooms of the church.  
Valerie was in a closet of sorts with more books and some items she's never seen in her entire life. There were lots of small statues of the woman, all had their own crystal, there were some necklaces with even smaller versions of the statue. Valerie felt the urge to take a necklace for each of them so she did. Biscuit also seemed interested in the necklaces. Valerie continued to look through the boxes, all the things in them were things she'd never seen before. She looked in the last box and found another box, a thin rectangle shaped box. The box itself was a dark blue with some lighter blue and white swirls on top. The swirls created a crude but beautiful drawing of the statue woman. She opened the box and saw a thin dagger resting on a piece of soft fabric. She used her magic to clean it off, then she took it out and examined it. It was a brilliant shiny sliver, it was covered in jewels and even bits of colorful glass. At the hilt was a spherical, hollowed out piece of glass, there was a small amount of blueish water inside. She placed the dagger back in its box and took it with her to show Zelus and Ada.


	13. End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the end! If you’ve read everything leave a comment:)

The three left the church, deciding to keep the dagger as well. A little souvenir of their adventure. (and also because it looked cool.) “were almost there! I can't wait to show you guys around.” Valerie said. Valerie held up a hand so that Biscuit could jump off of her shoulder. “And I can't wait to show you to mom!” Biscuit seemed content with everything going on. She put Biscuit back on her shoulder and turned around to look at Ada. “Here's the plan, when we enter the kingdom’s walls, we go to my mom’s house. I'll drop you both off and make my way up to the castle to drop off the ingredients. When I get back we’ll go to the doctor to see what they can do for you.” Ada shook her head. “Can I come with you to the castle?” she asked. Valerie looked to her with a smile “of course.”  
They were close enough to see the kingdom’s walls Valerie's smile got wider and wider the closer they got. Zelus took out his guitar and played an upbeat tune while they were walking. When he was done the wall was 135 feet away from them. They heard a whistle from the trees and looked up to see the hunter. He jumped down from the trees and walked towards the trio. The three all greeted him and he waved back. “Congrats on finishing your mission.” he said, hands on his hips. Zelus nodded “thank you, we couldn't have done it without you.” he stated. The hunter nodded the mask preventing the trio from seeing his expressions. “It was my pleasure,” he said.  
They talked for a bit and they told him how they found the church and that it was abandoned, The hunter seemed very invested in that topic. “We found this inside.” Valerie said while taking out the box. The hunter looked at the box and then at the contents. He seemed to freeze. “And you found that in the church?” he asked, his tone shifting from curious to fascinated. “Yeah in one of the boxes in the back room.” Valerie said putting the lid back on. “Wow.” he said. “So you seem to like this stuff, one day we’ll take you there.” she said. “No, no, I've been there but never went in. The dagger looks familiar to me though.” he said. “Well you guys should go on in, I'll see you again some day.” he said already making his way back to the tree he came out of. “And by the way, my name is Aslen.” the hunter said. “Thank you Aslen, see you!” Valerie said. “Yeah, thanks for helping with my shoulder.” Zelus said. “You're a cool dude.” Ada said with a smirk.  
As they approached the gate, the guard recognised Valerie but not Zelus or Ada. “who are you?” he asked. “They helped me through my mission.” Valerie said. The man’s eyes widened and he allowed all three in. Valerie stepped in the kingdom she hasn't seen in a while and took it all in. the sun melted all the snow so you wouldn't know it was winter if it wasn't for the freezing air. The roads were less busy with the sickness being a thing but the kingdom was still very much lively. The three made their way through the winding streets, all the way to the castle. Once in front of it, they all got permission to enter.

The king sat at his throne, he looked at Valerie when she entered and then at Zelus and Ada. “I've got everything, your highness.” Valerie said, taking off her bag so she could hand him the ingredients. She took them out one by one to be as careful as possible. “Thank you Valerie, you've done a great service for the kingdom.” the king said. He spoke to her not as an authority figure but like a friend. “Who are you two?” he asked curiously. Valerie moved so he could see them better. “Im Zelus.” he said shyly. “Im Ada, Val’s new bestie.” she said, winking. The king chuckled fondly at that. “So I'm assuming you helped Valerie?” he said. “Yes your majesty, they helped me through my journey, I met them before I was even near the first ingredient.” Valerie said. “I suppose you all deserve a thank you gift.” the king says before standing up and walking over to a box on a shelf. He pulls down the box and picks a few things out before putting the box back and walking over to the trio. “These are for you.” he holds out three pins, they're all different but have the same symbol in the bottom right corner. “It's a hero’s pin.” he states. “When people see these pins they'll know that I trust you and that they owe you for saving them.” he said.  
The king explained that the cure would be out shortly and that they would be able to help everyone. He then excused them and they all headed to the doctors. They waited to be called on in the doctor's office and when the doctor called, Ada went in alone. Zelus and Valerie sat there nervously waiting for the diagnosis. They talked briefly about how crazy their journey was, about everything they had been through. Ada and the doctor came back through the door. They sat there in anticipation. “It seems that Ada has something similar to addison's disease. luckily we can help with this since it isn't exactly the same illness.” they thanked the doctor and she said to come back tomorrow for treatment. 

~~~one year later~~~

“Hey Val guess what!” Zelus said, His longer hair flopped over his face. “Yeah?” she said looking over her shoulder. “I got the job!” he said excitedly “woah congrats man! We gotta celebrate later.” she said. Biscuit sat on her shoulder munching on a seed. “I can't wait to be a part of the royal guard, they said I have the best archery skills out of everyone else.” he said, imitating his trainers. Valerie huffed out a small laugh and turned back to preparing lunch for herself “Where's Ada?” he asked. “She’s in the backyard.” Valerie said. Zelus went outside to the backyard and saw Ada in her usual spot. She sat down with her hair up and out of the way, she was focused on painting a clay pot she made. “Hey Ada!” he said. She turned to look at him and smiled “hey Z, whats up?” she asked. “I got the job!” he told her. “Woah, My brother is a part of the royal guard. So this means I can do crimes now right?” she said with a snicker. “Yeah whatever, you still got the pot I made?” he asked. “Yeah it's over there.”  
He carried his pot over to the table. It was extremely lumpy compared to the ones Ada made. “Imma paint this bad boy.” he said, setting the pot down on the table. The pair sat down in comfortable silence and painted their pottery. “So you said that the fatigue has finally gone away?” Zelus asked. Ada washed her paintbrush and then moved on to a new color. “Yeah, that symptom faded away two weeks ago.” she said. “I mean, Val also helped.”  
“Hey Z! Aslen is here!” Valerie called from the door. “Ok, well, I gotta go real quick.” he said before leaving Ada on the bench. He came into the house through the back door then opened the front door. “Hey Aslen.” he greeted the masked man. “Hey Z, I was thinking we could both go practice archery.” he offered. “Yeah! That sounds cool. I gotta go tell ada though, be right back.” He went to quickly tell Ada where he was going and then left to go with Aslen.  
“I won you just can't admit it.” Zelus said with a smirk. “If the wind didn't blow I totally would have won.” Aspen said. “The wind was blowing during my turns too, You're just sour.” Zelus said, still smiling. “Wait I know this is a change of subject but did you ever find out what the old church was about?” Zelus asked. “Nah I can't find any records of that church in particular. I did go inside though” he responded. “No records? That's a little weird.” Zelus said. “Well I do have a ‘theory.’ I think that an ancient civilization made that church and by some miracle it's still standing.” Aslen said.


End file.
